2017-05-17

Reading the Highland Villager #181

[Basically the problem is that the best source of Saint Paul streets & sidewalks news is the Highland Villager, a very fine and historical newspaper. This wouldn't be a problem, except that its not available online. You basically have to live in or frequent Saint Paul to read it. Until this newspaper goes online, sidewalk information must be set free. See also:Three Reasons Why I Re-Blog the Highland Villager.]

Short short version: The city has [finally] released the official draft of its planning document that will guide the redevelopment of the old abandoned truck factory. There will be a public hearing in a month or so, the end of June, at the Planning Commission. Ford might put the property on the market in the fall.There are still design standards that might be forthcoming. Once a developer actually buys the property, they will release detailed development plans. The current plan includes different areas with different allowed building heights, some lower, some higher. There will specific parking standards to discourage driving, that might or might not involve a fee. There would be between 4K and 7K parking spaces, and 2400 and 4K new housing units. [The ratio of parking spots to housing units should remain low!] Article includes some quotes from planners and Planning Commissioners about parking demand and elasticity over time. [Keep in mind that were talking about 10-20 years here. Things change, believe it or not.]

Short short version: The ballfields that were on the Ford site for 60 years [see ubiquitous 50s Villager headline at top right] might or might not become private space. The land that is proposed to replace the old ballparks is owned by the railroad.The railroad representative has threatened to sue if the task force planners continue treating the land as open space. The task force also wants to move a few small park spaces around the Ford site. There is some question about whether or not it’s a good idea to move the “S-curve” in the River Road. [Traffic calming on the River Road should be done through design, not in creating unnecessary curves. That said, I don’t care very much whether the road curves or not. Still, seems a bit silly.]

Headline: Neighbors push UST to put a lid on off-campus parties; St. Thomas promises to renew efforts to rein in students prior to the fall
Author: Jane McClure

Short short version: [Neighborhood puts UST “on notice”, initiates “double secret probation.”] Tommies got drunk a lot recently, and some were not well behaved. In particular, there was “Case Day” on May 13 and also an event called “Tour de ‘Franzia”. [Sounds classy! I for one, resent the bicycle connotation.] Neighbors are concerned about Tommies, vomit, urine, etc. Neighbors want to hold landlords accountable. Best quote: “The complaints included students urinating in neighbors’ yards students swearing and being disrespectful to neighbors, loud and booming music played for hours, and yards littered with plastic cups and wine boxes.” Unrelated adult occupancy rules are listed here as one way to deal with issues like this. [My opinion is that the community should work on non-zoning solutions to these issues. Otherwise it discriminates against young people and students, regardless of whether or not they are, themselves, terribly behaved people.] One landlord is cited saying “he has detected evidence of five or more students living in his houses, but by the time he got inside to inspect, the proof was gone.” [Proof being something like fresh vomit stains, an additional Harry’s Razors kit, a spare iPhone charger…?] Quote from a student:” My leases are already 13 pages long; I don’t think students read them.” Quote about solution: “Off-duty police officers will be hired to patrol the neighborhood during the warm months and on event weekends.” [That’s more the direction you have to go IMO. Force the school to deal with these issues, and not make it a housing cost burden for everyone under the age of 30.]

Short short version: The vacant lot next to the busiest downtown light rail stop is vacant. There is loitering. The city is coming up with design guidelines for whatever development eventually happens on the site.

Headline: Cossetta’s sues city over termination of purchase agreement; West End caterer planned to buy lot for event center
Author: Jane McClure

Short short version: A guy who owns a large pizza restaurant, bar, and deli is suing the city because they did not let him buy a city-owned parking lot. [Google “Cossetta” and “parking lot” sometime for a fun treat!] Ten years ago someone at the city said they would sell the parking lot but not they do not want to. The pizza place owner wants to build an event center. [This was all so long ago! 2006? How is this still a thing that is happening? OTOH I do not have great faith in the City attorney’s office to win this case given how they have fared re: the Greenway railroad situation or the non-profit road fee situation…]

Short short version: A new rec center and playground is almost done. It took a long time. A lot of kids use the playground. There will be a “small zip line.” [Not boring!] A basketball court was nixed, though, due to some concerns about being too close to homes and older and younger kids mixing together. [Well there’s a can of worms! Basketball… I wonder what that could be a euphemism for?]

Short short version: The city is looking at rezoning a large chunk of Snelling Avenue away from the old single-use zoning and into “traditional neighborhood” zoning, [which allows for mixed-use and has design guidelines intended to minimize automobile-oriented urban design]. [And its about time! Jeez. TN zoning should be on all of the city’s older commercial strips, especially those which have good transit investments.] Some neighborhood groups like it, others kind of like it. There will be a public hearing this Friday. Neighbors are concerned about traffic, parking, density.

Short short version: Some people use the internet to rent their house, or rooms in their house, for a few days at a time. The city is trying to figure out what to do. The proposed regulations might include parking, limits on frequency, and limits on guests. Also this will be taxed somehow. People who own regular bed and breakfasts are upset about the unfair competition. There will be a hearing at the Planning Commission.

Short short version: A frontage road next to the freeway will probably get a protected bike lane, if the city can find the money. [C’mon! What’s that mayoral couch good for if you can’t find a few thousand dollars for a project like this?] A neighborhood group like the idea. The lane was not in the bike plan. [See more on the bike plan.] The route would go close to the under-construction [???] soccer stadium. [This is a great use of a marginal space for a community improvement.]

Headline: City releases river balcony plan
Author: Jane McClure

Short short version: A plan to create a walkable public space along the river bluff downtown has been released for the public to comment on. If anyone actually builds anything at the old West Publishing / Ramsey County site, this will be part of what they will have to create there.

Short short version: There are a lot of choice for how to build transit [or not!] along West 7th from downtown to the airport. A consultant team is looking at all of the choices and crunching the ridership and cost numbers [rough as they are at this point]. Neighbors are concerned about traffic and parking. Quote from the owner of a steakhouse: “[The loss of on-street parking is] the big worry, especially for businesses that don’t have off-street parking.” [It should be pointed out that the steak house here, which I like a great deal, has a huge off-street parking lot, some of which involved bulldozing older buildings in ways that might have been done with or without proper permits.] Article is short and does not really lay out all the options. Some options eliminate some parking spaces, others eliminate more or less parking spaces. [A good bit of parking space hand-wringing here, as if they were endangered Redwood trees rather than simply empty asphalt into which sometimes people put their empty car.]

Headline: Sun sets on Sunrise Inn in S. Mpls; New burger bar to open there this summer
Author: Bill Wagner

Short short version: [A south Minneapolis dive bar closed and the Villager reports on it… worlds collide! See my take on this.] Article includes nice quotes from the old owner, including: “Our place had the same dingbats that ‘Cheers’ had. Our bar was just like it was in the 1950s, Not much had ever changed.” [I would swap Cheers for Always Sunny…] Another anonymous customer quoted saying: “The Ford guys were the Sunrise’s best customers; We came in here a lot.” [MOAR Minneapolis dive bar coverage in the Villager please!]